Gallery: The best photos of Newcastle’s opening pre-season encounter

Newcastle United begun their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 victory over Gateshead, thanks to a first-half Papiss Cisse penalty following a foul on Massadio Haidara.

In his first match in charge, Steve McClaren’s line-up was a mixture of first-team stars, a number of players on the fringes plus a few youngsters - a clear sign of the club’s lack of transfer activity so far.

The Geordies have been making progress on a number of deals, but following Crystal Palace’s signing of Yohan Cabaye, the Toon army are now the only Premier League club yet to make a summer addition.

The game itself was typical of a pre-season opener, slow in pace and lacking in any real clear-cut chances, further proof of Newcastle’s need to bolster their attacking options.

There were starts for former Nottingham Forest duo Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles, two players who were signed last summer but subsequently spent the entire campaign on loan at the City Ground.

However, McClaren wanted to get a good look at his squad and changed the entire XI at half-time, handing the likes of Lubomir Satka, Rolando Aarons and Curtis Good rare first-team action.

Tom Thorogood

I'm a 27 year old language teacher and writer based out in Mexico with a passion for football and swimming. I like to focus on the top European Leagues, especially La Liga, as well as the footballing development in Central and South America. My favourite teams include Derby County, Barcelona and Jagaures de Chiapas.